


Baywatch except it gets gay

by Deevitas



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 01:31:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8729431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deevitas/pseuds/Deevitas
Summary: Post game, swearing, and a childhood crush.





	1. Emergency Exit

**Author's Note:**

> This tag needs more love!! Also this is an everything is the same except the professor is gay AU, he and Burnett are best buddies and maintain a close relationship and still work together professionally. Yay! Also I'm not a native English speaker so pls be gentle.
> 
> Also this isn't supposed to have an angsty tone all around, it'll get better in future chapters i promise

Anger issues are hard to resolve when you spend a long time kicking it leading a team of like minded delinquents angry at the system they couldn't beat, especially when suddenly you aren't doing that anymore. After the last battle with MC on the beach and getting your ass handed to you after declaring you'd never change, it's a bit hard to avoid the bitter taste in your mouth, only exacerbated by that old Hala deciding it's a good chance to come in and humiliate you further. It's whatever. It makes one unable to care much at this point.

It's not a great state of mind when someone is dealing with anger, sadness and frustration in exceeding amounts, so much that is almost leads to an internal failsafe system, and when Hala says he'll make a good trainer out of Guzma yet, and offers him a helping hand, he just says fuck it and goes with it. He already lost the island challenge years ago, missed out on being a trial captain, and had to disband his team he'd actually grown fond of recently, so who cares if his dignity goes out the window anyway? Guzma is so sure he's going to absolutely regret this, and yet he goes with the Kahuna anyway. The walk to Iki town is spent in a moderate silence, broken only by Guzma's angry grunting and kicking a couple rocks along the way. Surprisingly, the old man turned to go down the hill rather than heading directly into the village marked by the site of the grand trial and the entrace to the ruins of conflict.

This was when the silence was broken by more than a disgruntled man's attempts at venting frustration.

"I take it you probably don't want to stay at your home in Route 2?" Said the Kahuna, in anything but a casual manner. Even though Hala was walking ahead of him, Guzma still had to look away for a moment before being able to conceive an answer in his head.

"..."

"..."

And that was it. Given his still fresh feelings of antagonism toward the Kahuna, a herald of the system that kicked him down so harshly, he wasn't about to open up to him so suddenly, especially about that one subject.

"Your silence tells me everything I need to know, my boy. Don't you worry. Hah!" He exclaimed with a hearty laugh as they skipped past a couple of Youngsters rearing for battle. Guzma just let out an angry sigh, unhappy that he wasn't sure if what old Hala meant was patronizing or if he had something in mind. It was apparently the latter as both stopped in front of a ran down beach shack, poorly mended with wooden boards and with a broken sign that was under repair and thus impossible to read. Was this some form of punishment, was what Guzma thought. When Hala stepped up and knocked twice before opening the door, a loud booming voice confirmed that exact thought.

"Alola!!" A familiar voice exclaimed, booming through the house that was definitely larger than it seemed on the outside, and out into the door and into Guzma's ears. Oh hell no. This was too much.

"You know, Guzma." Old Hala said with a very tiny jokester undertone. "Kukui's assistant just left for Kanto, so he's been looking for one! Everything works itself out, hahaha!"

Guzma just stood there, speechless. Too much to process at the moment.

"Yeah, she even left the room neater than she found it. It's gonna be great, Woo!" Als-"

"Yo, hold on for a moment." Guzma interjected.

"Y'all are talking 'bout how I'm gonna do this or stay there and whatever! What the fuck!"

A brief pause.

"The hell do you see me as? Some idiot you can push around and patronize so y'all can feel better about yourselves? Nuh uh, I'm not goin' back into that, nah."

Hala and Kukui just sat there in shock, but not at Guzma's outrage, but at the fact that it was so uncharacteristic. There was no reckless screaming, no putting hands in his head, just a colorful interjection. Almost like he seemed tired, a side of him that wasn't particularly public.

"Screw that. I'm out." He exclaimed before he stormed off to the other end of the beach. Kukui wanted to follow, but Hala placed a hand on the professor's shoulder in a way that said to let him go for now. The way Guzma saw it, it wouldn't take that long to walk back to route 2 to his old home, but before that, he had to take some time out to figure himself out and put everything into place, something he hasn't practically done ever. When you consistently hide behind your anger and an image as an imposing figure of authority, you don't need to do much introspection, but with Team Skull gone and with Plumeria also in a trek issued by Nanu and Molayne to better herself and become a good trainer, he really didn't have much left. What would he even do if he went back home? Where would he go from there? Ugh.

The sun had gone down at this point, and as he sat there on a rock on the beach, looking at the moon's reflection on the waves as they gently crashed on the shore, no sort of epiphany came to him. Instead he just felt angry, confused, and like he'd been done wrong. Sure, he was the one to disband Team Skull, but he couldn't help but feel like it was yet another thing that was taken from him. Ugh.

"GUZMA, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!??" He shouted angrily at the sky before throwing himself at the sand, his view suddenly turning to one of the night sky filled with stars as far as the eye could see. Still no epiphany. Rather than continuing the train of thought of introspection that just pissed him off further, he just laid there looking at the sky, sighing from time to time. This was it. Absolute rock bottom, here's the big bad boss guzma, who always comes back to tear you down lying there on the sand, angry at himself and at the world for taking everything from him. God damnit.

Unfortunately, the angst train could only ride for so long, and winding down from what had been an emotionally exhausting couple of days, Guzma fell asleep, the soft sand of Alola caressing him as he dozed off.

He didn't really dream that night, or if he did it was something that was so brief he couldn't even begin to recall. When he began to rouse, he could tell from the state of his body that it had been several hours since he'd dozed off, but the pillow was so soft and the covers were so comfy that he didn't really feel like getting up just yet. Wait. What.

In a feeling of panic he fumbled around messily and fell off the bed onto the wooden floor with a loud thud. With his face on the floor, he spotted his shoes neatly placed by the bed and his shirt hanging neatly on the wall, apparently washed clean. A more present look around gave him a better sense of his surroundings as he got up. As his mind reached the conclusion that he was where he thought he was, a head popped up from the ladder that led to the loft that was the room he'd slept in.

"Alola cousin!" It exclaimed with a cheery disposition as the person said head belonged to made his way up the stairs and stood before the still sleepy Ex skull leader. Professor Kukui was always a weird fellow. Most people found it weird that he walked around half naked all the time while still being chipper and jolly consistently, but frankly Guzma always thought that if he had a bodyodyody like his he'd do the exact same thing. It was, of course, hard not to stare.

"''Ey, eyes up here buddy." He said jokingly before putting his hands to his hips and smiling brightly. "You wouldn't believe my face when I walked out to the beach and saw you passed out there! If I left you there you'da probably been rattata bait, so I figured it'd be best to bring you in." The professor concluded.

Guzma, of course, at the thought of being found unconscious and probably snoring on the beach by Kukui and then princess carried and tucked in just made him turn beet red. How the hell did he carry him up the ladder without waking him up?? What the hell???

"W-well...!!" Guzma spat out, trying not to embarrass himself but knowing he inevitably would. "It's not like I wanted ya to carry me here anyway! I didn't even wanna be here in the first place! The hell'd ya do that for?"

This was of course, redundant. Kukui had just told him why he carried him there, and even at Guzma's attempt to hide his embarrassment by looking angry, the professor flashed a grin and put his hand on his shoulder. "Doesn't matter why I did it cousin. All you need to know is you're free to stay here 'till you get yourself sorted out."

Such blatant generosity was a language Guzma didn't understand in lieu of never having been exposed to it much, so he replied with his usual attitude. "Ya better not be expectin' me to do any lab work 'round here. You've known me long enough t'know I end up breaking things one way or another anyway."

"Ah, about that." Kukui intervened. "Don't worry yourself none. I asked Hala to bring you here because I got a large amount of foreign bug pokémon from professors across the sea to study, and with Lillie gone I figured maybe you'd like to step in for a bit."

Some silence before the professor scratched the back of his head, still smiling. "I'm not forcing you to do anything, but I figured maybe it could be good for old times' sake, yeah?"


	2. Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ohhhh god we're going in deeper

"... Yeah, sure."

These two words, unbeknownst to the ex-gang leader that spoke them, would be the set-up for a fairly important part of his life in the near future. They weren't spoken with the utmost certainty, more like someone who had found a temporary shelter from the storm that is called life. Moving in with his parents at this point would be ridiculous, but he's not gonna stay in Po Town all by himself either. Those two places were marks of two very different times in Guzma's life, so maybe this tiny loft in Kukui's patched up house would be the next? Only time would tell. That particular day had gone by in a flash, almost like a daydream. As much as Guzma firmly opposed the idea of moving in at first, the few hours spent there changed his mind fairly quickly. The aquarium and the computer room made the place feel extremely spacious, not to mention that he quickly became attached to his tiny loft. A lot of the time was spent carrying boxes around, tidying up the place and putting complicated research things in order and in their proper shelves.

Despite the fact Guzma hadn't cleaned anything in literally years, there wasn't much opposition coming from him for this task, possibly because of the company. It was a monumental task, but something about tackling it with Kukui made the workload seem a lot smaller. To separate work equally, Guzma handled the bulk of the weight lifting while Kukui would tend to the aspects at hand that were a bit more scientific. The irony of it is not lost on Guzma, because he's not handling the boxes because he's stronger, it's Kukui that's handling the thinky stuff because he's a goddamn professor and knows what the hell he's doing, even though he's fucking ripped. There'd usually be a feeling of inadequacy hovering on the back of his head, but something about the professor's cheery and peppy disposition made everything go by smoothly and without a hitch, if you don't consider dropping boxes on one's toes a hitch.

During his team skull days, all the encounters with the professor would have some level of tension. The at the time Skull Leader's proclamations of crushing and beating him down came from a very removed point of view, an ego swelled vastly by the circumstances at those times. And for every time Guzma told Kukui he'd crush him, considering their history, Guzma's failure in the challenge and to become a trial captain and Kukui's refusal to do the same due to having different goals in life, Kukui would turn to him and tell him to bring it on with a smile on his face that said he was absolutely ready. These were about the only times they interacted while he was off living his "i hate the challenge and the kahunas and the blablablas fuck everything" phase, and despite everything he threw in the professor's face, including his tantrum the previous day, he didn't hesitate to offer him a place to stay at his own home during a time of need. 

It wasn't that taking all this into consideration made Guzma suddenly turn all buddy buddy, far from it, since he could only respond to most of the horrifically positive fallout that consistently erupted from Kukui with nods or grunts of affirmation, but it made him feel somewhat at ease that in this time and in this place that he didn't have to be the best, or prove his worth, or be the Big Bad Boss. It further elated him that despite his reactions being possible interpreted as unfriendly or stand off-ish, Kukui just went with it and communicated with him anyway. These were the thoughts that raced through his head as he walked up and down the stairs, carrying all manners of things so the professor could sort them in the basement, all while taking care not to disturb his Rockruff that seemed to have taken an instant liking to Guzma. Not that he complained, but it made things a tad more complicated.

He'd almost entered auto-pilot mode from the hard effort all day long, not to mention that the sun had already gone down one or two hours prior. As he set down one of many boxes, and prepared to ascend up the stairs one more time, a sudden exclamation startled him. "Hey, Guz!", Kukui yelled out, his hand up in the air to grab Guzma's attention. "That was the last one!" Great job!"

Now, most people would assume Guzma's skull should be empty in the place where there should be a brain, but judging from the way that one "great job" echoed through his head, one might just assume it was in fact empty. Cue him nodding in understanding, and going upstairs with the professor only to be asked to sit down for a moment around the table, and that he'd be right back.

As soon as he sat down, and he raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his brow did he notice that literally everything hurt. His arms were sore from all the at times heavy lifting, and his legs were tired from all the dancing he'd done around Kukui's rockruff while carrying heavy stuff. And yet, it wasn't a bad feeling. That was a day with a conclusive sequence of actions that had a clear start, middle, and finish, with the task at hand complete. All he could do was stare vaguely at the air while Kukui's rockruff pawed at him and licked his cheek to get his attention. He could swear he'd have dozed off, but one thing very quickly got his attention.

**Food.**

It wasn't long until Kukui emerged from the kitchen with two plates of whatever the hell that looked like, but despite its dodgy appearance, it smelled of one thing, and what it smelled of was "Delicious." As soon as the professor held the plate out for him, was when he started munching down mercilessly and relentlessly. It wasn't just that it tasted like heaven, but it was also one of the first decent hot meals he'd eaten in a while. Team Skull was cool and all, but surviving off Pokemon Centre Packaged Snacks wasn't exactly ideal. There's only one thing that could be here to make this 100% perfect, but he wasn't going to impose. He was actually already half way done when Kukui sat down, and with a grin, the professor asked. "How is it?"

"..."

Guzma had to actually stop and look at Kukui with a look that said "I haven't eaten in 84 years", but he still managed to get some words out.

"Lov the cronch." He said through a mouth half stuffed with food. Kukui only smiled, ready to dig in himself. "I'm glad! Being friends with Mallow means you get a ton of fresh produce right from the Lush Jungle."

The five minutes that came after the nod of affirmation Guzma gave Kukui were spent silently (or not so silently, considering Guzma has zero table manners), both of them obviously tired from a long day of work and reveling in a moment to rest and replenish their energies. A loud burp from Guzma made sure that the message of "it's really fucking good" came across. Trying to ignore it, Kukui quickly perked up when something that he'd forgotten came to mind.

"Oh, that's right!" He exclaimed before running off to the kitchen, leaving a very confused and now fed Guzma wondering what was going on. It wasn't long until a very familiar, very nostalgic aroma waved through the air, prompting Guzma to actually yell out.

"Oh my god. You didn't!" He belted out loudly, something that was met only with an audible giggle from the professor. It wasn't long until Kukui came out with two mugs that he quickly set down on the table.

"Don't tell me ya actually remembered...?" Guzma whispered, his eyes focused on the mug that had been set in front of him.

"You think I'd forget how we'd drink Tapu Cocoa all the time when we were kids? Kukui snickered, his smile as bright as the sun once more.

A physicist would've told you that the speed at which Guzma downed the sweet, warm cocoa was physically impossible to recreate, but sometimes things aren't the same on paper as they are in practice. He could only turn to the professor who was smugly downing his own drink, his eyes a bit watery and his cheeks somewhat flushed.

"After all the times I said I'd crush ya and stuff... and that time in the Malie garden, ya still go out of your way to do this fer me?" He didn't sound elated, nor sad. More inquisitive and forlorn than anything, really. Coming off from his state of total loss into a place that was so accepting of him was beyond anything that he could've possibly considered. Guzma tried to follow up, but Kukui quickly put his hand on his shoulder, before speaking up himself.

"Look cousin, don't think 'bout it too much. Your actions are your own to consider and redeem, but 'till then, the least I can do is give you a way to build yourself back up, eh?"

He tapped Guzma on the shoulder once, then twice before getting up and starting to head toward his own room, before turning back one last time. "I know you're not a bad person, Guz. That much I'm sure of. Other folks might think you don't deserve a second chance, but I disagree." He said firmly, ending with an ear to ear grin and a thumbs up. "Let's do our best tomorrow as well, okay?"

"... okay." Guzma whispered, looking down at the empty mug that was held between his hands. He was never too good with talking about feelings or having a real face to face talk, but Kukui just seemed so capable of reading him like he was an open book that he'd be left exposed, but comforted in a way. He took the mug over to the kitchen and went back to climb the stairs to his little loft. It felt weird, it definitely did, but before, when confronted with anything, he'd have just lashed out in anger to avoid people prying on his inner workings. It was different, now. It wasn't that he'd been saved by the professor, but more that he'd given him the ability to put his future back in his own hands, and that was definitely not something Guzma would forget soon.

Usually, people have a hard time falling asleep when switching beds suddenly, but moments after he'd gotten snug in the covers of the bed he'd been allowed to sleep in, he fell asleep, strangely eager to see how the next day would unfold.


	3. Magnet Pull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wait if that's the title does that mean we're getting somewhere

If you asked Guzma like three months ago where he thought he'd be in the future, he'd probably stop to think to come up with some contraption of a sentence including "ya boy", "greatest ever", and "crushing" repeated 50 times over to get the point across. Little did he know he'd be out and about at 8:45 am getting a delivery for the professor from the post office. For like the fifth time. During his first week in the lab he hardly ever went outside, his free time spent either with the professor or with his own pokemon. As time passed, though, he began going out a bit more and running errands for Kukui.

At first, the townspeople were wary. It wasn't just fear that drove them to do so, but distrust and a fresh memory of the shenanigans Guzma and his troupe of misfits got up to. It was, of course, deserved, but he still wanted to turn to the whispering people and cuss them out, or walk up to them to intimidate them with his ridiculous height. It's what he'd been doing for a while now, and back then it felt good. It would still probably feel good if he were to do it then, but he was aware the professor would inevitably hear about it and would absolutely tear him a new one. "Self control, Guz. You got this.", he repeated to himself at the time. He had to stop at the post office's door for 10 minutes to rehearse before politely, a word until then unbeknownst to him, asking for the professor's package.

It went on in his head as follows:

"Well, jolly good morning fellow post worker! Would you perhaps have mail for the resident professor?" He would say, chipper and bright as the sun.

"Well of course my fellow citizen of extreme distinction!" the post worker would then surely say. 

Then he'd get the fucking thing and keehaul it out of there. The attempt, however, went as follows:

"...h....h...." Guzma said, or rather, stuttered out.

"..."

The worker was of course intimidated. Guzma's frame covered nearly the entirety of the doorframe, and his reputation of course, preceded him.

Still, he'd rather go kiss a Bruxish than give up at this point.

".... hey." He muttered lowly.

The post worker could only nod, a trickle of sweat running down his face.

"Uhm. Professor. Mail." He blurted out before pulling out a tiny card that ID'd him as an official employee at the lab.

It was at this point that the whole visit paid out, since the face on the little man that stood behind the counter was too priceless for words. It was all Guzma could do to not burst out in laughter. He quickly collected the tightly wrapped box and left, letting out a loud "HAH" as he left the office. People, of course, turned to stare at him. Rolling his eyes, he just picked up the pace and went back to the lab.

This was the first time.

It'd been about two weeks since then, and these visits became regular. Apparently Pokémon professors receive a lot of mail from overseas, and there's a reason why most of them have assistants. It was a slow progression, but seeing the same faces most mornings led him to adapt even so slightly. People went from leering and whispering to minding their own business to waving a bit toward him. He would, much against his natural instinct, wave back and move on with his life. He'd even gotten to know the postal worker. His name was Karl, he was never late and supported his wife and two children in their house nearby. His hobbies included stargazing and pokémon spotting. He was a decent guy, really. Guzma decided he liked Karl.

Life itself in the lab was also shifting ever so slightly. Kukui didn't feel the need to go out of his way to be super chipper in order to make Guzma feel more at home, since he'd obviously settled in well since moving in. After their talk in his first day there, much of any tension that could've been left dissipated, and aside from the time they'd spend together working, they would frequently be together. Turns out that, as friendly and well connected as the professor is, he doesn't go out after a long day of work a lot, leaving a lot of time at home. One would figure why he wanted an assistant. The rare times he would leave, though, would be to visit Prof. Burnett at the dimensional research lab. Guzma had only seen her once, chatting it up with the professor and laughing quite heartily while at it. She was definitely a woman with a big personality, and he could see why the professor would go to such lengths to spend time with her occasionally. He usually returned from their meetings in a great mood and beaming.

He didn't want to admit it, but there was a hint of jealousy kicking it in the back of his head.

He'd never say he missed the professor, but when he was gone it was basically him, his wimpod, and rockruff, and as much as rockruff had gained some weird form of affection toward him, it felt a bit lonely for him, who was used to being surrounded with rowdy grunts and with loud noise coming from here there and everywhere. Nights spent in alone were weird because they reminded him of his childhood, something he'd rather not gravitate back to, even in his memories.

That night was one of those nights. He tried spending his time wandering around the lab, going over the many many books of pokémon research Lillie had accrued in the room he inherited from her, and generally just trying to spend time. In these "adventures", he'd managed to find a concerning amount of spandex pants in strange parts of the lab. Guess even a goody two shoes professor has his weird secrets. Turns out, though, that that night turned out to be a bit different. A loud laughter belonging to a woman boomed from outside the lab, which scared Guzma shitless, and the door opened with a bang.

Guzma quickly went down the ladder to go check on the door, and lo and behold, it was the two professors, talking and giggling with each other. As he locked eyes with Kukui, his eyes for a moment revealed a hint of vulnerability as his mind raced with possibilities for what was going on. Was she here to be his assistant? Was he gonna get kicked out? Are they dating now? Are they getting married?

His mind was racing, sure, but it was quickly drowned out by rockruff's loud yipping and yapping, and then the professor's voice greeting him warmly.

"I figured you were gettin' lonely being here alone, so I figured I'd have Burnett come over this time! Guzma, meet Burnett. She's been my research partner for years and a very good friend for even longer." he said warmly.

Burnett, on the other hand, took time to pick up the cue. Her eyes seemed like they were piercing Guzma through his very being, her intentions hidden behind her sly smile and beautiful face. She was, admittedly, a looker, and it was no surprise to Guzma that the professor would definitely take an interest in her. Her expression quickly did a 180º turn, and with a warm smile she waved at him. "Pleasure to meet ya!" she said in her unique voice as she extended her hand, which Guzma quickly took for a handshake. A bad choice, it turned out, as despite her being shorter than him, her strength nearly crushed Guzma's bones to fine dust. Quickly, his face turned red and he waved his hand around in search of relief that wouldn't come, all while the woman laughed and Kukui grinned, watching the spectacle with a good level of interest.

"Now now kids, let's settle down." he said as he smiled at Guzma's beet red face and his even more crimson hand that had just been crushed. "I actually have a pretty pressing report to work on with the professor and Miss Wicke of the aether foundation about the dimensional disturbances with the recent events, so we figured it'd be best if we worked under one roof for the time being! We managed to establish a wireless connection to Aether Paradise, so we'll be communcating with Wicke via video chat."

Guzma was, surprising himself, hit with a hint of jealousy once more. He hadn't realized it, but he'd grown fond of the evenings spent in with the professor, and the time they got to spend with each other reminiscing their childhoods and past dreams and adventures. One voice of his conscience told him he was being over dramatic, but the other one told him to seethe and be angry about it. Fortunately, his efforts to repress the latter had been paying off, since containing himself was better than the Permanent Pissed Off Mode he lived in in the past.

As this went through his head, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Burnett was staring intensely at him once more, her eyes like a scanner, taking note of every bit of muscle action in his body. She grinned as their eyes met, and a trickle of sweat ran down Guzma's face. There was no figuring out what this woman was thinking, but hey. If this had to be his life for the next few days, he could get through it. He'd been trapped in Ultra Space with Lusamine before, so this didn't even begin to compare.

As the two professors went down to the lab, Kukui motioned for Guzma to follow, and descending those stairs marked the beginning of what would be a week of intensive work and fascinating discoveries, work related or otherwise. Even though at the start, Burnett seemed to freak Guzma out, soon he'd discover that she's a woman with wisdom beyond her years and a warm personality hidden behind her shit eating grin and rowdy temperament.


	4. Skill Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mother, i'm writing fan fiction at 7am again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a brief chapter! part 2 to come later today

One step, then another down the set of stairs that led to the frequently inhabited laboratory. As the large monitor that was above Kukui's computer came into view, a large image of Wicke from Aether became well defined as the connection established itself. Casual greetings were had, apart from Guzma who purposefully tried to avoid the call. It was nothing against the lady in particular, just that his impression of Aether was extremely low considering events from the past. The conversation quickly went down weird technical and scientific terms that made absolutely zero sense, making the ex skull leader wonder why he was even needed there. The tone took a sudden change when suddenly the champion showed themselves on the other side of the screen, waving briefly with their perpetual smile on their faces.

"The champion here is helping me and the international police force round up the remaining UBs, as you can see!" Wicke said as she glanced over at them. "Anyway, we should be set to start properly tomorrow, I trust you have the faller there with you?"

"Heh, the term might be a bit inappropriate for the situation, but yes, Guzma is here with us. We'll see you tomorrow then!" The professor exclaimed as he turned off the video feed. There was a moment of silence as Kukui turned the chair to face Guzma, who looked confused and a bit shaken, for some reason.

He and Burnett explained to him what a faller was, and that his body was radiating intradimensional energies due to having gone through the wormhole before. He seemed to take it in stride, but there was something that seemed off, even by his standards. Kukui figured he'd deal with it later, since it was getting late, and tomorrow would be a rather intensive day. Little did he know that even though Guzma was slowly learning to control his temper, he was still a hot head who jumped to conclusions and acted on said conclusions against any reason or rhyme.

"Oh yeah!" Burnett added suddenly. "You'll be rooming with me for the time being, too. Woo!"

For some reason, despite her enthusiastic grin, Guzma didn't react much. He just said good night in a low, hushed tone and left up the stairs toward his little living space. Kukui followed shortly after to check up on him, but it seemed he fell asleep as soon as he laid down on his bed. Strange, very strange indeed. Usually, when he got pouty or frustrated, he'd express it and let it all out. It was good that he was learning to keep his temper in check, but it was far more disconcerting that for once there was no telling what was going on in his head. He returned to Burnett and both of them shrugged before getting ready for a late night of work.

Fast forward to the next day, skipping ahead of four or six mugs of coffee and several graphs and tables of numbers and values, and the professor woke up with the swaying of his own chair that he fell asleep in. A quick look at his lab showed only a massive amount of sheets of paper scattered about, most of them with coffee mug marks. Kukui rubbed his temples and got up to check on his current housemates. Rockruff followed him with glee, yipping and yapping. Peeping at the tiny loft revealed one (1) professor Burnett snoring loudly with a couple of reports next to her makeshift bed on the floor, and Guzma... was nowhere to be seen, surprisingly. His things were still there, at least, so he hadn't run away overnight for one reason or another. Kukui hoped he'd return soon, since his help would be major in the process of their research. Maybe he'd been too hard on him lately? It was true that Guzma didn't complain about anything the professor asked of him, but even so, Kukui figured he'd whip up something nice for him later on as a sign of thanks.

It wasn't long until Burnett herself woke up, and as soon as the professor got her up to speed on the Guzma situation, she shook her head at him. "God, your head is literally made of bricks isn't it?" She asked him in a joking tone. Kukui himself could only shrug in confusion. She sighed, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'll handle it. You go get something nice for him when we get back." she concluded.

There was a reason why Guzma was right to be somewhat wary of Burnett, and that's because she's a woman with an eagle eye with 100x zoom capacities. There's nothing she won't spot, and she's smart enough to put two and two together. Walking out of the lab and onto the beach, it was no surprise that the white haired fellow was nowhere in sight. Or at least that's the conclusion she jumped to. Her ear quickly caught a beat in the not so far away distance, possibly coming from the other end of the beach. Moving warily as she approached the origin of the sound, a very interesting sight came up. She quickly hid to make sure she wasn't spotted, but in front of her was a very chipper Guzma accompanied by a dual-toned haired woman with a bandanna and two blue haired fellows wearing caps and white rags around their necks.

She'd assumed that Guzma had left to mope, and he probably did, but for some reason he looked happy, maybe because of the woman present? She had striking make-up on and piercing yellow eyes, a slender body and a collection of poké balls around her waist. A trainer, it looked like, considering she had a full team on her. Was she his girlfriend, maybe? No, that'd go against what she was theorizing, but there was a hint of a deeper bond between the two. Before she got lost in thought, one of the blue haired fellows pressed play on his PokéNav, and the woman started moving to the beat of the song that began playing. Guzma was watching, swaying along to the beat. It was a something akin to pop-rock, but the way the woman moved as the beat progressed, her yellow and pink hair flowing beautifully after her body, was nothing short of captivating. Her limbs moved sharply, hitting every beat, her bare feet lifting up sand as she turned it out right there on the beach end. Everything was on point. Her outfit showcased her body while still being comfortable enough to move in, the pink and yellow tails her hair extended into complimented her style of dancing perfectly, like a ribbon dancer. It was quite the sight to see, honestly. However, as suddenly as she started, she was done. Wait, was she...?

The until then unidentified woman turned to look at Burnett in the distance, and winked. Burnett's heart skipped a beat as her cheeks grew a bit red. Guzma and the two boys hadn't noticed this, as they were busy cheering her on and complimenting her.

"That was amazing, sis!" one of the boys yelled out, before the other interjected. "Yeah, yer trainin's payin' off a bunch, yo!"

Guzma himself chipped in. "That was fuckin' rad, Plum! It hasn't been too long, but that was seriously fucking good."

The four continued their banter, before Burnett decided it was time to head back before she was caught. She promised the professor he'd bring Guzma back with her, but she had a feeling he'd be returning on his own soon enough. Not to mention that now there was a lil' something she wanted to ask of him.

Quietly, she returned to the lab to find the professor holed up in the kitchen. The two exchanged greetings, but Burnett had a different look on her face than she did when she had left. "Did something happen?" Kukui inquired, curiously. Burnett just giggled and put her hand on Kukui's shoulder. "Heh, something definitely did alright."

Needless to say, this put the professor in an even bigger state of confusion. Everything had been so cryptic and nothing had been explained to him, but since it looked like Burnett was having fun it probably wasn't anything too serious.

He was about to head further down this train of thought until Burnett interrupted him. "By the way, you need to have a good talk with that boy. You said you had a thing for him when you were kids, so you should try to make more of an effort to understand him other than just showing consistent optimism."

Bang, hit the nail on the head. The professor blushed instantly, pondering her words before nodding enthusiastically with a grin. "Maybe you're right, but what did you see anyway?" He asked.

"He was hanging out with his old skull members, looks like. Nothing too bad, just jamming out to some tunes on the beach. He looked like he was having a good time, though."

As she said this, Kukui let out a sigh of relief. He'd heard some of team skull became a dance crew after the disbanding of the team, which was oddly fitting. Hopefully Guzma wouldn't join them, though, judging by the sheer fact that he dances like he has two left feet. As he thought this, the door opened and closed shortly after. From the way the door was slammed shut, it was probably Guzma. Kukui turned down the heat on the pot he had on the oven, and prepared to head to the door only to find that Burnett had a headstart on doing the same. She winked at Kukui as she took a confused Guzma by the wrist and dragged him to the tiny loft they were sharing together. Kukui was once again left in the dark, and for a second, he pouted at her. Ah well, he'd get his chance to figure everything out.

As Burnett sat Guzma down on the bed, he didn't even have time to ask what was going on before she went right to the subject. "That girl, with you on the beach."

Guzma was taken aback for a second. She was watching them?

"I need her number, and her name. For science." She added.

It took him a while to register, but he couldn't help but let out a chuckle, something she hadn't seem from him yet.

"Aight, I'll pass it on. Her name's Plumeria, and she's definitely single" He grinned, his brain not yet registering the implications of her asking him this.

Little did he also know that this small development would cause a major change in his life.


	5. I want to light up the night sky with our dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what's this? breaking the chapter title pattern? groundbreaking, get this man a nobel prize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any typos! i'm a bit ill so i'll revise this later but i wanted to get it out asap!

It had been about an hour since Burnett had dragged Guzma away for a little one on one time, and Kukui couldn't be more confused and honestly, a bit frustrated at being left in the dark so much. Some plan of action was needed. A plan that is both meticulous and technical, devious but witty, and infallible.

Of course, it was eavesdropping. It wasn't hard to put himself in a location where he could listen to their conversation up in their teeny loft, the only thing stopping him was human decency. Ah well, screw decency for the next few minutes, the professor thought. Tiptoeing so he wouldn't be heard, he put his back against the wall and focused to see if he could make sense of what was going on.

Upstairs, the conversation deviated from Plumeria, who had been caught in Burnett's sights, to Guzma's time in team skull and his problems with the Island Challenge during his earlier years. Somehow, Guzma sounded very frank when he was speaking, which meant that some way or another, this lady got him to open up, the ex-gang leader with a history of anger problems and a mindset of anarchy, in less than an hour. It wasn't so much that she'd manipulated him into doing so, rather that the conversation quickly evolved into it from the topic of Plumeria and her standing with him in the administration of Team Skull, which by itself implied it's something that Guzma had been keeping locked up and actually willingly wanted to get it out to someone who'd listen.

This realization left Kukui a bit disturbed, and frankly, a bit sad. He'd been there for a couple of weeks with him, cheering him on and throwing all the thumbs up he could at the guy, but he'd met Burnett for a day and talked to her for an hour and it not only seemed that a quick friendship was being formed, but the fact that he opened up to her so fast when he didn't to him during those weeks kind of left a bit of a sinking feeling in Kukui's stomach. Not anything to fault to Guzma, really. It'd just struck him that keeping up his happy go lucky attitude turned up to 11 coupled with spending a lot of time with Guzma just working, that there wasn't much of a chance for a real heart to heart that Kukui didn't dismiss quickly with some positive affirmations about how Guzma could do X or be redeemed with Y. 

It was a lot to realize at once, but also not something that could be resolved with a flick of the finger. In a twist of events, it seemed the two of them had also finished getting sorted upstairs, and could be heard making their way down. The professor quickly scampered back to the kitchen, pretending to be stirring something that was done an hour ago and already had gone cold. As Guzma and Burnett passed by, Guzma threw him a weird stare and Burnett giggled at the scene. Kukui threw in a quick smile to mask what would appear at first sight to be clumsiness, though behind it was a myriad of thoughts he had to sort out himself.

By the time lunch was ready and everyone sat down to munch down, there was a weird silence permeating the room. Burnett and Guzma were all talked out, and Kukui spent most of his time in his head trying to make sense of things. It wasn't until one of them spoke up with a statement that was to be expected that things began lighting up a bit.

"Wow, this is fuckin' good!" Guzma shouted out suddenly, not with any intention to break the silence, just because it made sense to suddenly declare that. Kukui snickered, and quickly retorted.

"Is it because of the "cronch""? He laughed, and Guzma's cheeks lit up a bit. "Oh, shut up, you're never letting that go, are you?"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was cleared. The professor smiled genuinely, and with a strengthened resolve, spoke up.

"Ya know what? I know we just got started, but we're taking the day off. I heard they're releasing sky lanterns in Hau'oli today, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna stay holed up in here while they get down to that." He declared. This was met with some excited clapping from Burnett and a smile from Guzma, who simply nodded. Kukui still hadn't figured out what made him storm off the previous day and why he'd left to sulk in the morning, but he was gonna do his best to find that out.

In record time, everyone was sorted and ready to go. Guzma still wore his patched shirt with the zigzag lines, which he claimed he'd gotten attached to. Burnett had a little black dress on, simple but comfortable and easy to move around it, yet with a bit of glamour to it. Kukui, for once, decided to not go shirtless, and quickly threw on a quick t-shirt with an exeggutor pattern. Guzma quickly noticed that it didn't matter if he wore a shirt or not, because it clung to him so tightly you could still pretty much see everything. Not that he was complaining, though.

With the three of them out of the house, plus Rockruff coming along for the ride, they were off to the festival and to see the sky lanterns. The walk to hau'oli from the lab was a pleasant one, especially with sundown coming in soon. The three of them walked side by side in a pleasant silence, until Burnett elbowed Guzma discreetly, and having gotten his attention, winked at him before turning to both of them. "Oh my!" She exclaimed. "I completely forgot they were conveniently having a sales on Dive Balls today! I'll go on ahead to see if I can still catch any!"

And as such, as quickly as she spoke up, she was gone. God, she could run fast. In her wake were left a confused professor and an internally freaking out ex gang leader. I mean, she did tell him she'd set it up, but this suddenly and so soon? Fuuuck.

"Well." Kukui said suddenly. "I guess this means it's the both of us for now, eh?"

Guzma nodded casually, looking away, his hands in his pockets and his expression betraying any attempt to bottle his frustration up.

"Hey, prof?" He inquired suddenly as they both began to walk together.

"Yeah, Guz?"

"This is kind of a weird question, but why did ya insist on me goin' to your lab so much?" He inquired.

Kukui was left without much of an immediate reply, but almost right after he ended his sentence, Guzma spoke up again.

"Actually, no, lemme reiterate that better." Guzma followed up, obviously nervous and somewhat anxious after being dropped into this so suddenly.

"I mean, I get ya had good intentions and whatnot, but it just seemed to fall in with the whole thingydimension bla bla shebangle and portal and faller thing, ya hear?" He carried on.

The professor's heart sunk to his stomach. It should've been obvious from the start, why he acted the way he did the previous day at the lab.

"I don't know man, it's just... it felt good to have some place where I felt wanted, ya know? Somewhere where I wasn't bein' played by someone. I don't want ya to have t' go out of your way to make me feel included if ya just need me for your research, Prof."

A poor selection of words, perhaps, but Guzma wasn't known for his eloquence. It seemed the point had come across, though. The professor quickly stopped in his tracks and put his hand on Guzma's shoulder, looking him dead in the eye.

"Guzma, I..." He stuttered out. Guzma just looked away, a bit desolate.

There weren't a lot of things he could say at the moment. What should he do, Kukui thought to himself. Should he justify himself? Make it up to him somehow? For once in his life, he couldn't just put his thumbs up and say that everything was gonna be alright, because this was an issue that went deeper than that. So he followed what his gut instinct told him to do, and embraced Guzma in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry. I should've realized how much it came across that way." He sputtered out, a hint of guilt clinging to his words.

Guzma, of course, was shook. This was the last thing he expected, and as he sat there, in Kukui's warm embrace with his arms wrapped around his body, he tried to reciprocate, awkwardly putting his arms across the professor's back.

It was about a minute or two until the professor took a step back, and put both his hands on Guzma's shoulders. "Look, Guz. Research or no research, I want you to understand that when I told you you could stay for as long as you wanted to, I meant it." He said as he scratched his cheeks that were blushing ever so slightly. "When I saw the way you were speaking with Burnett today, I almost felt sad, you know? I want you to be able to confide in me like that, not feel like some lab research rat."

As he said that, Kukui's face clearly lit up a bit, but a quick look at Guzma revealed that he'd gone from his usual pale tone to something akin to a tomato with how red he'd gotten. It was everything he wanted to hear, but the words still wouldn't come out and if they did, he'd probably sound like a mess. So in a quick motion, he embraced the professor once more, who gladly did the same.

"Listen up though, doc." Guzma said while holding Kukui. "Ya gotta get me a big malasada as compensation."

"Fine, but for now I think we gotta hurry, they'll be releasing the lanterns anytime now." The professor retorted. With a smile on both their faces, they kept on walking toward hau'oli, which was now in sight. They figured they'd run into Burnett eventually, but until then, the two of them walking together in silence felt right, for the time being.


	6. Daydream Warrior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE CHAPTER to make up for ao3 being down all day yesterday and my inability to update

The first few steps into Hau'oli seemed ethereal, for a lack of a better word. It seemed that the glistening amber sundown lasted in the horizon for what seemed like an eternity, like it was holding itself back to make the moment feel more timeless. The serene silence between Guzma and Kukui following their moment of bonding was only broken by people greeting the professor left and right, but other than that, Guzma could only turn his head, as his head finished processing what had happened moments prior he couldn't even look the professor in the face without becoming embarrassed.

First of all, he couldn't believe he said that. He couldn't believe he confronted someone without letting the anger and rage that had governed his life blow off his lid and become loose.

Second of all, that was literally the kindest thing anyone had ever told him at any point in his life. To be cared for unconditionally was something he wasn't familiar with, but the words and actions of the professor felt so genuine that even he was having a hard time doubting them. He wouldn't complain if the professor hugged him more between his two big arms, either. Zero complaints right there. Still, it was a fact that he was probably going to have to spend the rest of the night with him if Burnett wasn't showing any signs of showing up soon.

At this thought, he smiled faintly. It was bound to be an evening well spent.

Immersed in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice where the professor was leading him. He'd spent most of his early days living in route 2, right next door, but with his mind floating elsewhere, he barely realized Kukui had taken him straight into the mall and directly toward the apparel store. Like, as in the fancy one.

Suddenly aware of his surroundings, he turned to Kukui with a confused, and incredulous face. Quite a funny one at that, since the professor let out a small giggle and smiled right back. "I've been here before, but I wasn't about to get you anything that might not fit later."

Kukui took a quick glance at Guzma's old zigzag pattern shirt that he'd been carrying everywhere for the past few years, and then right back at him.

"Don't you think it's time to move on with your wardrobe?" He asked, waiting to give Guzma appropriate time to think.

Guzma would in most situations yell out an immediate "NO WAY", but maybe this time around the professor was right, even if he had zero grounds in the subject of fashion, due to walking around half naked all the time. "Fine, but I'm not lettin' ya spend too much on me."

Kukui grinned and gave a thumbs up. "I'll take that as a resounding yes, then!"

Little did he know that Guzma was extremely picky with what he'd wear, especially coming from a store without any hoodies at all. As he went in and out of the dressing room and helping the taller man get in and out of the various ensembles the professor suggested (not without turning red, mind you), the two traded ideas, disagreed on what looked good or did not look good, and after half the store's available stock was messily spread around on the floor did Guzma suddenly speak up.

"Hey, I like it!" He exclaimed.

Kukui quickly shoved his head onto the dressing room to check it out, surprised at the pedestrian ensemble he'd chosen. A short purple shirt with a popped collar, above a white shirt, with some black knee length shorts. He'd never thought it up himself, but if Guzma liked it himself then there was no way he was saying no. It was a lot better than watching him in the rackety old shirt with the crossed out Skull symbol, anyway, though there was no way Guzma wasn't keeping it around anyway.

As Guzma turned around and looked at himself in the mirror in his new nifty ensemble, it was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, almost literally. Said weight existing in the form of his old shirt, that he'd worn for the past few years. It was conflicting, really, since it represented a very comfortable, safe side of him that resided in his old ideals, while this new outfit fit more with the large leaps he'd been taking lately. Ah well, too much introspection for one night. In the end, he just turned to Kukui and did his best to produce an excited smile, though it was something of a work in progress. The professor gave him a thumbs up and they both went on their way. A new distraction quickly arose and Kukui pointed toward the local malasada shop, his grin doing nothing in the effort of masking his intentions. Guzma, on the other hand, let out a grunt that meant "You already spent more than you should on me but i did hold you to it so i'm gonna grunt to seem disinterested even though i'm actually looking forward to it."

On the short way there, a poster on the wall grabbed their attention for a moment. "Plumeria and the knuckleheads" were having their first official gig later on. Guess that solved the mystery of where Burnett had gone. A quick glance from Kukui to Guzma and a short nod from the latter meant an agreement that they knew what they'd be doing later. They quickly moved onto the malasada shop, wary of the line that was quickly growing due to the festival festivities beginning soon. After a bit of a wait, they both dug in on a couple of big malasadas, freshly baked and with fillings of their choice. The professor obviously chose a spicy malasada, given that he's one to enjoy the spice of life, but Guzma went with sweet, never having lost his sweet tooth from back when he was a child, back when he and Kukui would dig into them with regularity together, something that had come to happen again many years into the future. Almost prophetic, no?

As they both made their way onto the beach, with the lanterns in sight, ready to be launched at any moment, malasadas in hand, and with the beautiful night sky forming right in front of them, it was like a snapshot in time had been taken for the exact second that this had all sunk in. This was the exact same night sky that Guzma laid his eyes on when he was desperately lying on the beach by Iki Town, the same one he'd asked for a epiphany from and gotten nothing from it. Now, a good while later, that same night sky, beyond the light of the various stars that adorned it, was quickly filled with various lanterns that were being released in a staggered fashion. A dim, amber glow took over the skies as the many tiny dots of light flew up on their own, to some destination unknown. The same night sky, now filled with hopeful lanterns of light that sparked hope more than the stars that would do nothing but stare back in their beauty.

It was an instinctive reaction, but after some bit of hesitation, Guzma put his arm over Kukui's shoulder and leaned onto him a bit. The professor only smiled as they both, along with the people of Hau'oli and many who had travelled to see this spectacle looked upon the same night sky that the two of them did.

Between the two of them, only silence, only broken by the occasional conversation by their fellow spectators. Guzma had no idea how much time had passed since they first stood there looking at the lanterns depart, until they were only dots in the distance. All he knows is he didn't really let go of the professor during that time, nor had any plans to do so. It was only when he came to his senses that he'd noticed Kukui had reciprocated by putting his hand on Guzma's hip. He had no idea at which point that had happened, but even with the lanterns far gone in the distance, neither of them seemed to budge from their spot.

It really wasn't characteristic of Guzma to show so much emotional vulnerability in such a short span of time, but for once he'd let himself and and let his guard down, willing to let the professor's companionship sink in and reclaim the feeling they had as kids when they were good friends. It really had been a major change from where he was a month behind, but for the first time in a while, he felt that, with some work and with a little help from his friends, new and old, maybe, just maybe he'd be able to get somewhere.


	7. Rather Than Talking About Our Dreams, Let's Sing Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHEEZE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is /so late/, sorry for any glaring mistakes since this is a rewrite from a version i was unhappy with and ended up scrapping (sorry for anyone who caught that btw), I'll get to it when I'm fully rested! thanks for reading! (alcohol mentions in the chapter itself btw)

A blur was all that could be made out when trying to think about what happened the previous night after the lanterns were released. Shaky, floating memories suggested vague images of them with a very excited Burnett at the gig Plumeria was debuting at with her crew of ex-skull grunts. From there on out, it's one hazy collection of things that could or could not have happened. Was this real? Was this an out of body experience? Guzma's eyes opened ever so slightly, his eyelids weighing heavily. The sun had only begun to rise, from the looks of the lights hitting the room, so it would probably be okay to go back to sleep. Besides, for some reason, his pillows felt extra warm and comfy, almost like they were radiating warmth on their own.  
Ah well, back to sleep, he thought. Nothing wrong with getting some extra shut-eye after what the hell last night had been.

Fast forward some good few hours, and a change in perspective.

A blur was all that could be made out when trying to think about what happened the previous night after the lanterns were released. Shaky, floating memories suggested vague images of a very excited Guzma breaking it down on the dance floor at the after party, drunk beyond all help. Didn't teach him how to dance, either. Besides that, it's one hazy collection of things that could or could not have happened. The professor didn't even feel like opening his eyes, the bags under them feeling like they'd gained a life of their own and demanded for their well being. From what he could tell, it probably wasn't that late into the morning, so it would probably be okay to go back to sleep. Besides, for some reason, his covers weighed on his body more than usual, providing a relieving warmth.

Ah well, back to sleep, he thought. Nothing wrong with getting some extra shut-eye after what surely was one hell of a night.

Fast forward some good few hours, and he finally woke up properly. The weight on his body had vanished, and the clock suggested it was a bit past noon. Cripes. Kukui searched around for his goggles that were nowhere to be found, and after an effort that had gone in vain, gave up and got up from his bed. He wasn't one to get hung over, really, but last night was an exception to party. Surprisingly, there wasn't much stirring around the lab, apart from Rockruff trailing some footsteps to the kitchen. Venturing out only in his underwear, the professor followed it, coming to find a very disheveled Guzma in there, trying to figure out how to get a cup of coffee going, dressed only in his large, patterned cloth boxers and a t-shirt with an exeggutor pattern on it. It seemed familiar for some reason.

"Mornin'", he said, leaning on the doorframe, still hazy and tired.

Guzma just raised his hand with a lazy wave in reply, still trying to figure out the machine, his movements, for some reason, looking shaky and clunky.

Still weird, though. Usually he'd reply decently, even if he was in a grumpy mood, so in a quick course of action, Kukui approached him to find Guzma looking distracted, his cheeks a shade of a tomato picked at 11:32 am in the farthest reaches of the everest on winter solstice of the turning of the millenium. It was such a rich color that if said tomato were to exist and possess it, Ina Garten would probably include it in her show, but if you can't make it to the everest, storebought is fine, she'd say.

Beyond his odd complexion, he seemed to be avoiding eye contact, his sight focused on the machine in front of him, trying to get it to work. This was weird, but somehow a bit funny. Smiling, Kukui put an arm over Guzma's shoulder, and pointed to the large "ON" button that was located right at the centre of the machine's interface. Guzma's response was slow, turning his head in a delayed fashion, like his brain had checked out for the day for a much needed vacation.

"What's the matter?" Kukui inquired, genuinely confused. He tried to scan Guzma for any hints in his reactions, but all the other man could do was interchanging his look between Kukui's face and his half-naked body before speaking up.

"Yo, did like... did something happened last night, prof?" He said in a low tone, not sad or forlorn, just completely hung over. This only served to confuse the poor professor further.

"Yeah, like, what didn't happen last night?" Kukui said, casually and cheerily. For a moment, Guzma's face absolutely froze in a weird conflict of emotions until the professor elaborated. "I mean, we had a ton of fun, didn't we? The last thing I remember is you laying me down in my bed because I couldn't tell left from right, heh."

As he uttered that last sentence, Guzma relaxed, but still had a moment in which he tensed up. For one, that meant that nothing had actually happened, which was good, but on the other, it meant that he'd basically spent the night with the professor by his own (albeit drunk) decision. It was a lot to process. Actually, no, it wasn't. It was very, very obvious what Guzma's subconscious had worked up, but he wasn't about ready to face that just now. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his body, his stiff shoulders dropping down to his usual slumpy position that betrayed his actual height.

"Don't tell me ya didn't notice my weight on ya all night." Guzma retorted, his voice still tired, but showing a hint of a joking tone. Kukui tilted his head slightly and smiled. "Aw, is that why you're embarrassed, Guz?" he said, amused at the very mellow hungover Guzma. "I mean, I don't really get why you would be, it's always nice to have a buddy to huddle up with for the night!" He said behind his grin, which got a reaction from Guzma, a faint, but honest smile.

He couldn't help but snort a bit, really. Of course the professor would react like this. Even as kids, he had always been a bit of a knucklehead (not that Guzma himself wasn't one, to be fair), and friendly to a fault. He turned to look away for a moment, distracted and too absent minded to come up with a witty comeback to Kukui's exclamation, but before he could even lift his hand to scratch the back of his head Kukui quickly embraced him strongly, Guzma's head being pushed right into the professor's chest.

"I mean, If ya want to be close to me that badly, there's nothing wrong with asking, hehe!" He almost shouted, his strong arms holding Guzma in place, who, in the light of this extremely indulgent development, could do nothing but go along with the ride. The professor's heavy hold was like a tiny paradise on earth, his whole body exuding a comfortable warmth that he could bear with for the rest of his life.

In a regular situation, he'd struggle for freedom and come up with something nasty to say, but with how foggy his mind was, there wasn't much to do but to sit there in what was likely the #1 headrest in the world for his tired self to rest in. Odds are he'd have fallen asleep again right then and there if it weren't for Kukui giving him two pats on the shoulder and moving back to get some actual coffee done for the both of them.

It was a peaceful wait as the two began hearing some raindrops falling outside, with it being interrupted by Guzma exclaimed something suddenly. "Yo, where's Burnett?"

"No clue!" The professor replied. "I think we lost her for the night when she went backstage at your friend's gig." Guzma shrugged. Of course, the lady went right for the jugular without hesitation. Who knew where she had ended up? One thing was for sure, if she didn't come back then that meant that she had at least ten times the game Guzma had. God damnit. If only he had a fraction of her charisma, maybe then.... nah, forget it. Probably the drowsiness talking.

As his thought process slowly carried on at the speed of a snail, the professor handed him a mug of coffee with a nice, distinctive scent, and Guzma followed him into the lounge, lazily admiring the definition of his back muscles. 

Silently, they both sat down, and Kukui continued. "She's a big woman, though, so I'm 100% sure she's okay. I'm more worried for whoever she clung to, she can be a complete party monster when she wants to!" Kukui smiled brightly, and even though his eyes were riddled with eyebags and he was clearly tired, Guzma found himself endlessly drawn to his features. The way he closed his eyes when he smiled brightly, or how he'd gesticulate with his hands when he wanted to get a point across, how his cheeks flared up when he went in on something he was passionate about... the list could go on. It wasn't much of a "oh shit i'm gay fuck" moment, but more of a "i knew all of this but now that my brain is running at 10% I get to sit down and take in all of this as it's coming to me" kind of deal. The fact that the professor was very emotive was definitely not a hindrance, it was hard to not focus him when he was around, his presence being able to brighten up any room.

In a delayed motion, Guzma took a sip of coffee, and slumped his head on the professor's shoulder. Burnett wasn't there to make fun of him for it, nor was anyone else for that matter. He probably wouldn't be doing this if he were at 100% capacity either, or maybe he would? The previous night and the talk he had with the professor and the moment they shared helped them return a bit to the intimacy they shared when they were younger, so for now, being huddled up to him like this wasn't bad in the slightest.

Surprisingly, Kukui said nothing, and just adjusted his weight properly to accomodate Guzma, taking out his phone for a moment. Looking over his shoulder revealed a couple of unread messages from Wicke, probably about the delayed work, something Kukui could only respond to with a "sorry but burnett is MIA so we gotta pause rn". After sending said text, he just looked at Guzma and smiled. "Nothing we can do about it right now, right?"

Guzma's heart skipped a beat. They were so close to each other, such that he could feel the heat radiating off Kukui. It was definitely a good pick me up for a slow, mellow morning.

"Yeah, I guess." He replied lazily.

"What are we gonna do if we can't continue working without her, though?" Guzma continued.

"Well, I figured maybe we could go out and do some field work, but the Castform app says that it's probably going to keep pouring for today, so we're probably staying in." was the reply Kukui came up with. This fit in with Guzma's many years of experience in sitting around and lazing about, and he was 100% going to regret this later, but for now, unapologetically spending a day in with the professor seemed like his idea of an ideal day.

As he thought that, Kukui once more put his arm around Guzma's shoulders and brought him in a bit. "Well, let's make the most of it anyway, Guz! Still plenty of things we can do indoors, yeah?" Kukui exclaimed, follow by an excited yap from rockruff that had settled on Guzma's lap in the meantime. "Guz" was an ages old nickname, one that annoyed Guzma when they were kids, but felt good to hear at that point in time. It was a little touch of affection, probably not something Kukui put a lot of active thought into, meaning it was just regular for him to call him that. It made him feel butterflies in his stomach when he did, too, so that was a plus. He wouldn't be caught dead calling him any sort of nickname, for about three hundred different reasons, but associating with someone who felt the exact opposite way was pretty neat, he'd admit.

By the time Kukui retracted his arm, Guzma had settled in further and reached for a blanket that sat there on the couch that he draped over himself. His future self could handle whatever would come out of this, or any sort of blow it could be to his ego as the former hated boss that keeps beating you down and down, and as he leaned more onto the professor and closed his eyes, he could feel himself fading, nearly falling asleep, his lull broken when Kukui leaned further onto Guzma as well, his eyes closed and a soft, gentle smile spread across his lips.

It wasn't long before Guzma fell asleep, but in the few moments before he did, feeling the warmth from the professor and from rockruff on his lap, he couldn't help but think that this was one family that he wouldn't mind being a part of in all honesty. It would be a good while before either of them roused again, shifting positions in their sleep so that Guzma's head ended up resting on Kukui's lap, who in turned had his arm over Guzma's body.


	8. Let's open the door, from zero to one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courage is needed for the first step from zero; I want to change, so Step!

Drip, drip, drip, drip. Crash.

A whole plethora of Onomatopoeia could be used to describe the storm that was crashing down outside. Pretty uncharacteristic for the season, but there wasn't much that could be done. A buzzing and whirring of a phone was what made Guzma stir from his sleep, grunting lowly before opening his eyes, the only thing appearing before him being a rather sculpted set of abs. In a quick motion, he lifted his head up from the professor's lap, who was still fast asleep, apparently too far gone to be woken up from something like this. He'd always been quite the heavy sleeper, so it wasn't much of a surprise. As the embarrassed Guzma roused from the couched they fell asleep in, he couldn't help but recall last night's events and how he'd pin the ego strike on future Guzma. Well, he was now future Guzma, feeling a bit defeated at having given in so heavily to his more intimate desires. Ah well, thankfully nothing bad came of it, he actually slept pretty well despite the possibly uncomfortable position.

A quick glance toward the buzzing phone that belonged to Kukui revealed a couple of texts from Burnet that included a very well taken selfie by Plumeria, featuring the two of them + ex-grunts A and B, taking refuge in their studio. Plumeria had always been killer at taking some good ass selfies, and Burnet looked like she didn't mind in the slightest. Props to the professor for being crafty, though. Plumeria may care a lot for those close to her, but it takes a bit of effort to break the ice with her.

On the corner of the phone, the time was on display. It was already well into the evening, and as time went by, Guzma found himself more and more aware of his surroundings after having slept for so long. As this happened, some odd sound caught his ear by chance. More attentive listening revealed it was repeating itself consistently, almost sounding like a buzz of some sort, and it came downstairs from the lab. He figured he should wake up Kukui, since it's probably important, but one look at him drooling and snoring led Guzma to believe that he needed the rest. Ah well. Without anything better to do, he went down the stairs only to find the computer screen brightly lit up, one of the buttons on the keyboard lit up.

Guzma had never been known for his smarts, and it wasn't long until his brain went full dee-dee mode. "Ooh, what does this button do?" A part of his mind wondered. The other part didn't oppose to checking it out. With a quick press, the simply lit up screen quickly changed to a video transmission, on the other side of which, two figures materialized. One made Guzma groan instinctively. The champion, of course. Victor of the island challenge and the first ever champion of Alola. Kukui had told him to be nice to them, even if only out of respect, but some parts of people can't change that quickly. It'd take a while before Guzma could get over the bitterness and jealousy of seeing someone breeze through something that had caused him so much pain in his younger years, and then soar even above it. Bah.

The other figure was one he was acquainted with, but not as much. A beautiful woman in a well adorned lab coat and with a pink turtleneck sweater, with big, piled on hair. Her gentle eyes were hidden behind two pink, round frames, and it wasn't long until she realized the call had finally been picked up. Wicke of the aether foundation. Guzma's dealings with them weren't particularly thorough, but out of their administration, Wicke was one of the ones he could tolerate. Out of the other two, one was Lusamine, which came with her own set of messed up issues that caught Guzma in their turbulent dealings, and the other was.... what was his name? Gaga? Wakka? Fapa? It'd come to him eventually, but he couldn't remember him being a particularly enjoyable fellow.

Regardless, he looked at the screen, still a bit drowsy, as Wicked spoke into the microphone on their end. "Uhm, hello! Can you hear me?" She asked in a gentle, but slightly pressed voice.

Guzma just raised his hand to give a lazy thumbs-up, this little dee-dee adventure of his proving to be more trouble than it was worth. He was half paying attention to Wicke, half throwing the champion a bit of a death glare.

"Great! Are any of the professors there with you?" She inquired. Guzma was about to answer with a swift yes, that Kukui was there so he could just throw the workload that was rightfully his on him and drop this subject matter, but before he did so, his mind quickly flashed to an image of a slouchy professor sleeping on the couch with drool running out of his mouth.

As a result, Guzma just shook his head to signal no, a response which left Wicke somewhat concerned. She figured it was best not to pry, but she needed to do something, even if it was a shot in the dark. "It's just that the champion here has finished rounding up the Ultra Beasts, and we're suddenly finding ourselves with a lot more information than we can process without some findings we requested from the lab not too long ago." She stated, her issue becoming apparent.

Guzma blinked once, then twice. A quick look around the lab revealed a bunch of scattered papers with a lot of graphs and information on them, marked alongside coffee stains, probably from Kukui and Burnet's late night, back when Guzma threw his small fit. Leaning down to grab a few, he raised them toward the camera for Wicke to take a look at. Her eyes widened and she adjusted her glasses as she took a good look at the papers. "Right, that's it! Only thing is, there should be around a couple hundred more to complete what we need..." She stated, before Guzma picked up the camera and showed it across the laboratory, showing waves after waves of papers spread around. It was at this point that he figured he hadn't said a single word to the woman who was still trying to do her best to communicate with him.

"..."

"..."

"I can scan'em and send'em over, if ya want." He muttered lowly, repeating inside his head that he was doing this for the professor's sake and not for the aether foundation or the little brat of a champion.

"Sorry, what was that?" Wicke asked before moving closer to the audio device on her side.

"I ASKED IF YA WANTED ME TO SEND'EM OVER, DAMNIT." He yelled out, going a bit too far in his efforts to not seem pleasant. It was a bit contradictory, though, being rude while at the same time offering to help on what looked like quite the substantial task. He'd expected Wicke to be at least a bit shaken by his rise in volume, but was surprised to see she'd put her hands together and was smiling, visibly relieved. "My, thank you so much, dear!" She exclaimed, while the champion snickered behind her. This tugged at Guzma's nerves, and his eye twitched just a bit before Wicke resumed. "Right, it shouldn't be too strenuous of a task, but I'm going to have to ask you to order them properly before sending them over, or our system won't be able to register the information properly."

Shouldn't be too hard, Guzma figured. He gives the lady a helping hand, does the professor's work for him, and hopefully would get some time spent with Kukui later on, he figured. He wasn't about to go down the rabbit hole of why he was subjecting himself to something so menial when there was only a possibility of the outcome being everything going well and Kukui being grateful to him, but not only did he want to pull his weight for once, a part of him yearned a bit for the professor's approval. With a newfound determination, he went about his work.

Work which would soon reveal to be more complicated than just piling sheets by what their number was. It was more of a jigsaw puzzle, really. Values needed to be cross referenced, pieced together and only then sent in the correct order, which was a lot more work than Guzma anticipated. He wasn't particularly smart or educated in this stuff to be able to get used to it too quickly, either. Thankfully, Wicke remained on the other end of the line to give him a helping hand, and despite some bloopers here and there, Guzma began getting the hang of it. It was mentally strenuous, and definitely tiring, but the more he chipped at the decreasing pile of files, the quicker he started going through them. It's a fact that with a puzzle, the more pieces you assemble, the easier it gets to organize what remains of it and put everything together. It had been about two hours, and the storm still raged outside. Faba had appeared on the call meanwhile, but left outraged when Guzma addressed him as "Gaga", something that entertained him a bit as he trucked on with his self imposed task.

Soon enough, it would seem to be done with. "Right, only one more to go and we're done!" Wicked said, elated. The problem was, though, the last file was nowhere in sight. Looking here, there, and everywhere didn't particularly help, until, out of the corner of his eye, Guzma spotted a bit of paper protruding from the wardrobe on the corner of the lab. Huh. Weird. The slight brown coffee staining that tarnished it showed it was probably the last file, so he quickly made his way there and tugged at the sheet of paper. Surprisingly, this caused the wardrobe door to open and to cause a paraphernalia of items to fall on him. Spooked, Guzma took a step back, but it was quickly revealed that it was only clothing, clothing he'd seen around occasionally. More specific, around ten pairs of tight spandex pants, and a new addition to the crew of weird clothing items, a red mask adorned with various decorations. He'd come back to clean it up later, for now he just wanted to get this last piece of paper sent out and this business over and done with. Following a lot of very enthusiastic "thank you!"s from Wicke, the call finally went down, and Guzma sat down on Kukui's chair, spinning a round a bit to take a good look at the room that was previously littered with paper, now cleared out with the files ordered and organized. All by himself, too. He wasn't particularly the type of person to do favors or to work hard, but looking around made him smile a bit, reflecting on a complicated job well done.

It also gave him a couple of moments to look at the place where Kukui worked most days, when he wasn't out. It registered very differently from when he spent his first day in there, carrying boxes in and out and helping the professor sort things out. Back then, it still felt a bit foreign, like a temporary shelter, but now, he'd been around long enough that it was a place he could maybe call home. Lost in thought, Guzma perked up when he remembered the weird wardrobe issue. Walking back there, there was something about the skeezy outfit that ringed a bell, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Ah well. He picked up the pile of clothes messily and shove them back in there, closing the door to the wardrobe unceremoniously.

It probably wasn't important, anyway. Right now, what his ego craved the most was more self gloating about actually sitting down to get that shit sorted. Putting his hands to his hips, he looked over the now squeaky clean lab, and smiled to himself, something that was interrupted by some drowned out sounds that descended from the stairs. It could only be one thing, and said thing was professor "I get up at 8pm in the evening because i'm more tired than i let on because I don't want people to worry about me", still in his boxers. He yawned as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and took a look around.

Kukui blinked once, then twice, before rubbing his eyes. What he saw was as follows:

Guzma: There  
Files: Properly stacked and put away  
Lab: Cleaned out

There really weren't many possibilities as to what could've went down, so the professor took another quick look at the lab and then at Guzma, who was just there, slouching, but grinning internally. He was, for a lack of a better word, shook. Trying to find words for this unexpected development, he turned to Guzma, who sighed and took it from there. "The Aether lady kept callin' for ya and buggin' me, so I figured I'd give her a quick hand. Ya looked you need to sleep, so I figured I'd go ahead with it." He said dismissively. This only left the professor shaken further.

"How long did it take you to send everything over?" Kukui asked, instantly woken up by this surprise. "I'unno, couple hours?" Was what Guzma replied.

This left the professor at a loss for words. It would've easily taken him double the time to do it on his own, and he was the one who put the thing together in the first place. For Guzma to figure it out so quickly, to do it in so little time, and not only that, to forego his own convenience to let him rest? Kukui could cry, honestly, at how much the former Skull leader was putting in an effort to change things up in his life. Of course, in touchy-feely Kukui style, he pulled Guzma in for a ridiculously strong bear hug to show his appreciation, along with a major ear to ear smile, his own cheeks flushed a bit.

Despite feeling his body being shattered in at least seventy six different places, Guzma couldn't help but feel some sense of accomplishment now that he found himself in Kukui's grasp once more, his warm hands and strong grip bringing him a sense of victory as they embraced him. He had to pretend to be slightly disgruntled so Kukui wouldn't pick up on how much he enjoyed being this close to him, so he let out a small grunt and wriggled around a bit, the smile on his face betraying the nature of his actions. Honestly, though, who wouldn't enjoy the professor's hugs? He was strong and was a furnace of radiating body heat, and in times of showing affection he could just lose track of time and not let Guzma go for minutes on end, something he enjoyed fairly thoroughly. Soon enough, though, Kukui pulled apart from him, and scratched the back of his head as he looked at the squeaky clean lab, and then back to Guzma.

"I mean, I wish I could find the words to thank you properly, because, I mean..." Kukui muttered as he tried finding the words. "That's a load of work you lifted off my shoulders, even when I was already behind, on your own initiative, too..."

On the outside, Guzma remained stoic, but on the inside, he was grinning ear to ear. If the professor kept inflating his ego like this, he might end up saying something stupid.

"Okay, this time around, I really gotta make it up to you!" Kukui shouted suddenly and energetically, fitting with his character. "Whatever it is you might want, just say it and I'll see what I can do!" he continued, his beautiful grin almost too intoxicating to look at.

"Anything?" Guzma inquired suddenly.

"I mean, yeah, within reason." Kukui replied.

Guzma's heart skipped a beat and he decided that for now it was time to put a break on being considerate and do something rash and foolhardy for once. "Dinner, then." He sputtered out after a bit of hesitation.

"Huh, just that?" Kukui inquired, tilting his head in confusion.

"No, I mean..." were the words Guzma got out before it felt like his heart got stuck on his throat. Ah, fuck it. He's done more stupid things in his life. "... take me out someplace, just the two of us." He said before instantly turning away, his pale skin once more giving way for a quickly surfacing blush. He figured Kukui would just assume it to be a regular going out, so it was a plea fallen on deaf ears, sort of, or so he thought. Looking back to the professor, he found him to be wide-eyed, and obviously a bit taken aback, for once.

"Like... like a date?" The professor replied, still a bit surprised at Guzma's unexpected request, a tone of crimson surfacing in his features as well.

Not having planned this far ahead, Guzma just faced away. "I- I mean, ya don't have to do it, I just thought-" was what Guzma said before being suddenly interrupted by Kukui, who turned him so they faced each other and took him by the hands, his cheeks still flustered.

"No, no, let's do it! I know just the place!" Kukui exclaimed as his eyes lit up. In response, or rather, a lack of, Guzma just stood there speechless. Were his rash and impetuous actions paying off for once? As he stood there with the professor holding his hands, and some form of a glint returned to his disillusioned eyes, he couldn't help but let out the most genuine smile of his life.


	9. The First Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHA DID YOU MISS ME

"Blue jeans, white shirt..." was what could be heard from the stereo, the voice of a whimsical, depressed lady who sounded like she was wearing a big red gown and laying on a chaise lounge with a glass of expensive wine on her hand. Guzma was never one for slow music, but his emotions were bundling up, swirling around his brain and rattling around in his head, and listening to Lana Del Rey's Greatest Hits was the only thing he could process as he laid in his bed. He wasn't sure who this lady was or why this cd was here, but it was something to do, at least. He was antsy and jittery, and had been lying awake for a couple of hours after rousing. He'd had trouble falling asleep the previous night as well, but that's to be expected when he suddenly asked his childhood friend and overly nice handsome professor of the alola region out to a date and he said yes with a smile on his face. It elated Guzma for a while, sure, but after that, his worries kicked in and made him anxious ever since.

"What if he's just going along with it because whatever? He's always marched to the beat of his own drum, anyway." A tiny voice said, before another one rung up. "Who knows, maybe he's just being nice so he gets an assistant for free."

"That's funny, like he isn't going to kick you out as soon as he's done with the dimensional research he needs you for."

"Actually, he hates you because you clogged his toilet with a piece of gum that one time."

These had been a constant since then. It took all the energy in Guzma's body to get up and get in decent clothing that wasn't his underwear. Looking over to the right hung his old team skull jacket, with the skull in the back crossed out by red tape. It beckoned him, in a way. "Put me on, just once more. Go back to when things where more simple."

It took a second for Guzma to get his bearings before putting his palms to his cheeks forcefully, forcing himself awake. He was way too deep into this rabbit hole to wimp out now. His brief moment of self assurance was interrupted when the door opened, then closed in a rush.

"It's here!" Exclaimed a familiar voice.

What could it have possibly been? Guzma knew the delivery schedule for lab affairs, and they weren't expecting anything that morning.

"Oh, is it here already?" A more feminine voice shouted out from the kitchen with glee. All this commotion finally motivated Guzma to leave his tiny loft and go down the ladder to go check it out. Approaching the two professors, it seemed Kukui was holding a big brown box, with a big "Ultra express delivery: 100,000 pokedollars for delivery." sticker plastered onto it. Kukui and Burnet turned to him simultaneously with a smile. "Turn around and open your arms." Kukui said. Guzma lazily obliged, raising his arms in a casual fashion. Sounds of unboxing and of wrapping paper being handled followed, before he felt a strange texture slide through his arms and a bit of a weight hanging on his shoulder.

"Wow, it's a great fit!" Burnet exclaimed, clapping in approval. This confused Guzma until he looked down at his body and arms, now clad in a long, white lab coat that fit him like a glove. It was surprisingly tough, but that's to be expected of material to handle dangerous materials. As the meaning of this sudden gift sunk in, he turned and looked Kukui right in the eye, the other man smiling with his big cheek to cheek grin. A brief glint shone through Guzma's eyes for the first time since the lanterns festival. Quickly, he turned to Burnet who gave him a big thumbs up and approached him to lightly punch him in the chest. "You got a job now, big boy, don't mess it up."

"Wha...?" Guzma muttered lowly before turning back to Kukui.

"That's right." The professor assured. "From today on, you're officially professor assistant Guzma, and with all the benefits that come with it." He finished as his everlasting smile shone even brighter.

Guzma could only look down and at his arms, at the lab coat that hung from them, and fit so snugly. More than a torrent of emotions, there was more of a dispelling of intrusive thoughts that plagues his mind earlier that morning. If Kukui didn't want him around or was only plotting to take advantage of him, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble, especially considering it was express shipped from outside the region, for the cost to be so extravagant.

He was a man that talked big, sure, but in times when he's overloaded with emotion, he somehow couldn't seem to form a string of words. He was also a staunch believer in the fact that actions speak louder than words, and as such, despite his big frame, he quickly embraced the professor in his arms, squeezing him with all the force his arms could muster. There was a form of thankfulness that couldn't be expressed with a flat, embarrassed "thank you", and this was how Guzma could say it the best, or so he felt. It wasn't long before Kukui reciprocated, fully aware of how much this could possibly mean to him, to a man who'd always been adrift in his life, from a rough childhood to rejection from a widely embraced system, to his team skull days, a man who'd suddenly been offered stability in his life, some place to build off of.

"Um, guys." Burnet interjected. "I know you're having a bit of a moment there, but we kind of have a full day ahead of us."

"Oh, right." Kukui suddenly said, as if he'd been brought to reality. Burnet quickly picked up where she left off. "We still haven't finished the full dimensional report, even if Guzma somehow filled in for us last night."

Guzma didn't particularly feel a pressing need to let go right away, but it was for the best. After all, it had been a packed last couple of days, hadn't it? Kukui's work came before his touchy feely needs. Before his thought process carried on further, Burnet continued.

"We should get as much done this afternoon as we can, since you two have someplace to be at night, don't you?" She said as she winked at Guzma, who suddenly felt his heart in his throat. Kukui quickly turned to her, clearly embarrassed, speaking in a hushed tone. "Shhh, it's supposed to be a secret! Don't ruin it!" Was what he could say before Burnet just laughed it off and headed for the lab. Kukui looked at her, and then at Guzma, then back to Burnet, then back to Guzma. His cheeks tinted a bit crimson, he quickly followed her downstairs, clearly flustered.

A surprise, huh? It warmed Guzma's heart a bit to hear the professor prepared something at the eleventh hour, and he gave himself an imaginary pat on the back before following the two of them downstairs, adjusting his lab coat and preparing to do the job that came with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing the end of the story in quick, sequential chapters. Look forward to the rest fairly soon!


End file.
